The annual festival of folk and rock music headed by British folk-rock band Fairport Convention takes place on the edge of the village of Cropredy near Banbury next weekend.
Last year's event attracted 15,000 music lovers from around the world for three days of live music in scorching temperatures of up to 32C.
The festival started in 1980 when Dave Pegg and Dave Swarbrick of the band, who lived in Cropredy, staged a farewell concert in the village.
Fairport decided to call it a day in 1979 and, having opened up for Led Zeppelin at Knebworth in the early afternoon, tore across the country in their van to do an outdoor farewell concert at Peewit Farm on Station Road.
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A year later, they decided to reconvene with some friends for what would become their annual reunion.
Although they had performed in Cropredy before, 1980 is the year Fairport recognise as the first Cropredy Festival.
The festival has continued on various sites, including Broughton Castle, up to the present day, increasing in size from a couple of thousand to its current capacity of 20,000.
Organisers say Cropredy is a music festival and could never be pigeon-holed as a folk festival.
Along with the folk and folk-rock acts – Lindisfarne, Julie Fowlis, Steeleye Span, Ralph McTell and Cara Dillon, the likes of Alice Cooper, Robert Plant, Status Quo, Steve Winwood and Buzzcocks have also performed.
And, bucking current trends, the Cropredy Festival has always stuck to the one-stage idea so that the crowd won’t miss anyone.
The advantage to the performer is that no matter how far down the bill they are, they are guaranteed to be performing in front of at least 10,000 people.
The Cropredy ‘Fringe’ entertainment - provided by the two pubs in the village – act as satellite stages.
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Indeed, many of the acts that have appeared at the festival have performed at The Brasenose Arms and The Red Lion on their way.
The festival runs from Thursday, August 10 to Saturday, August 12. Here is this year's line up.
THURSDAY, AUGUST 10
Nile Rodgers & CHIC
Toyah & Robert Fripp
Wilson Wakeman
Merry Hell
Fairport Acoustic
FRIDAY, AUGUST 11
10cc
Fisherman's Friends
Strawbs
Richie Owens & The Farm Bureau
Easy Star All-Stars
Peat & Diesel
Kiki Dee & Carmelo Luggeri
Joshua Burnell
SATURDAY, AUGUST 12
Fairport Convention & Friends
Gilbert O'Sullivan
The Young 'Uns
Solstice
Beans On Toast
Morganway
Richard Digance
Fairport are currently out doing a few shows and there are still some tickets available for a warm-up show at Hook Norton Brewery on Monday, August 7. The following night is sold out.
If tickets are sold out by the time the festival opens at 7am on Thursday, August 10. Tickets will be available from the marquee on Field 7c.
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